Sample Photos

Disney Vacation, Nex-6, 55-210mm lens – The Animal Kingdom

For this series of Photos from out Disney Family Vacation, I used my Nex-6 and the 55-210mm E-Mount Lens. The extra focal length of the SEL55210 was definitely needed for the Animal Kingdom as most animals were pretty far away, and the 18-55mm standard kit lens is not enough zoom. I really wanted to get close-ups of the animals and zoom in for some nice detail shots as you will see below 😉 This is the third series of photos from the trip, so be sure to check out the other two by selecting the home button, or looking at the related articles just below this post.

The Animal kingdom is one of the newer parks at Disney World and I have never been there before. What they have going on is basically an awesome zoo with the Disney magic thrown in wherever possible. They have a pretty awesome safari attraction that was a blast and we saw a ton of animals in what looked to be a natural habitat I must say. They also had a rapids ride my Dad and I went on which was short, but fun.

I ended up purchasing the 55-210mm lens as I really wanted it, and this trip justified the purchase in my mind. If your a regular reader you may remember me saying I wanted this lens for my personal collection many times, but just couldn’t afford it. Happy day, I finally own the sel55210 🙂 I absolutely love that it’s in my camera bag now with the sel1855, and sel16f28 lenses plus the Minolta 50mm f/1.4 Mc Rokkor PG Lens I’m still trying to find time to play with.

Just so you know, I shot only in raw quality for all these photos and did some enhancements in Adobe Lightroom 4. If you want to see how I enhance the Sony Nex-6 raw files using Lightroom 4, be sure to check out the Lightroom Tutorials Categories Here >> I also used Aperture Priority mode, Auto ISO, Auto WB, Area Focus, and average metering 95% of the time. I did use exposure comp a few times and shutter priority mode for a few high speed shots you will see in another article soon.

The Animal Kingdom

On the way into the park we had a very funny driver who was cracking jokes about the driver making an amazing U-Turn with the tram train. Love the sel55210 lens for portraits like this!

The Tree of Life is the main symbol of the park so I will start with that. More from the other side of the tree later on in the series 😉 Incredible sculpture work as the tree appears to have all the animals from the park on it if you look close!

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12 Comments

Thanks Al 🙂 I only used Lightroom 4 for these raw photos, but I did use the adjustment brush for some selective editing and/or dodging and burning. The clarity slider is also awesome. I need to get Lightroom 5 one of these days as well. Photoshop is sitting idle for the most part as I barley use it anymore for editing. Occasionally I’ll use the Nik filters, but even that is becoming more and more rare.

Catch ya later, and looking forward to more of you killer articles 😉
Jay

Great set of shots, Jay! The Sony packs in a great shooting experience with specs that can rival standard bulky DSLRs but all packed into a tiny package.

I may have mentioned in a past post that you and I have a very similar setup per what you describe at the top of your article. Mine are:
Sony NEX-6
16-50mm Sony pancake (vs your 18-55mm, older)
16mm, f2.8 (same)
18-200mm, Tamron (will acquire soon)
58mm, f1.4 Minolta MC Rokkor prime (almost same as your 50mm f1.4 MC Rokkor)

Thanks Jerry for the comments and killer line-up of gear you have there. I also have the Minolta 58mm f/1.4 and the Minolta 50mm f/2 Lenses which I tested on the Nex-6 (click the lens link for each article) Both lenses are a lot of fun to use on the Nex-6, but I like the 50mm better than the 58mm so far I think.

Jay, just curious as to the reason why you like the 50mm versus 58mm. For myself, I only have the 58mm so no real choice in the matter for me. I would think the 58mm being brighter, would be preferred because it allows more versatility to shoot in harsher lighting conditions.

I just prefer the 50mm focal length with the crop factor camera, but also the optics wide open are sharper on my copy. The 58mm I have is slightly different than my 50mm. Possible coatings or optics, not sure. Every time I try and use the 58mm I have to move back, but the 50mm, not so much. I think it’s just me and the focal length, not the lens.

Great shots! Last time I was in WDW was in 2011 and was just getting into photography with my new NEX-3. Now I have the NEX-7 and can’t wait for my next trip in July. I also have Lightroom so I very much appreciate your tutorial.